Dozens killed as sectarian violence erupts in Pakistan’s Kurram | Religious Affairs

Renewed fighting between Sunni and Shia Muslim groups has recently erupted in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

At least 32 people have been killed and dozens injured in renewed fighting between Sunni and Shia Muslim groups in northwest Pakistan, officials said.

Saturday’s violence was the latest to rock Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, days after a deadly convoy attack in the same area left dozens dead.

Speaking to the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity, a senior administration official said the death toll in the latest incident included 14 Sunnis and 18 Shias. Another 47 were injured, said the official.

Pakistan’s police chief also confirmed Saturday’s battle to the Associated Press news agency, putting the death toll at 33 and 25 wounded.

This police officer, who also withheld his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said that armed men in Bagan and Bacha Kot burned shops, houses and government property.

Gunfire was going on between the Alizai and Bagan tribes in the Lower Kurram region.

“Educational institutions in Kurram have been closed due to the tension. “Both sides are using heavy and automatic weapons,” said the police officer.

Videos and photos posted on social media showed the market engulfed in flames with orange flames piercing the night sky. Gunshots are heard again.

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said a curfew had been imposed and mobile phone services had been suspended.

“Officials are describing this as a tense situation,” he added.

“On the other hand, people are complaining that the government and the authorities have failed to provide security to the citizens,” said Hyder, adding that the protests are spreading “due to the inability of the authorities to restore this situation, which comes from outside.” of control”.

Escalating violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the mountainous province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the border with Afghanistan has killed around 150 people in recent months.

On Thursday, gunmen opened fire on two separate groups of Shia Muslims who were traveling with police escorts in Kurram, killing more than 40. At least 11 were injured.

The Shia Muslim group then on Friday evening launched an attack targeting Sunni areas, including Bagan bazaar, in the once-independent Kurram region, where sectarian violence has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.

“After shooting, they set fire to the whole market and entered nearby houses, poured petrol and set it on fire. Initial reports indicate that more than 300 shops and more than 100 houses have been burnt,” said the police chief in Kurram to AFP.

He said the local Sunnis “fired back at the attackers”.

Javedullah Mehsud, a senior official in Kurram, told the AP that there are “efforts to restore peace… [through] the deployment of security forces” and the help of “local elders”.

Shia Muslims make up about 15 percent of the 240 million people in Sunni-majority Pakistan, which has a history of sectarian animosity between the communities.

Although the two groups live together peacefully, tensions still exist, especially in Kurram.